Pakistan’s three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, whose power base earned him the moniker “Lion of Punjab”, is a political survivor who has repeatedly roared back to the country’s top office.
Mr Sharif scored a hat trick on Friday after being ousted from office yet again — this time after being disqualified by the Supreme Court.
But the 67-year-old — who hails from Pakistan’s richest and most populous province Punjab — has already made two seemingly unthinkable comebacks, underscoring the unpredictable nature of Pakistani politics.
A hugely wealthy steel tycoon considered strong on the economy and infrastructure, he inherited enormous problems of sagging finances and a stifling energy crisis.
He comes across as soft-spoken and shy with international media but earned a reputation for combativeness during his two previous terms as Prime Minister, from 1990 to 1993, and from 1997 to 1999.
He beat arch-rival Benazir Bhutto in the polls and served a three-year term until he was sacked on corruption charges and replaced by Bhutto, before returning to power in a landslide in 1997. But his government buckled under tensions with the army, which seized power in 1999.
Mr Sharif was sentenced in a military court to life imprisonment for hijacking and terrorism, but was allowed to go into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000. He returned in 2007.
